According to LinkedIn dot com, John Carpenter, MSW,
LCSW, is a self-employed therapist and lecturer educated at
Washington University in St. Louis and DePauw University. The bio also states
he was an "abductions research specialist at UFO research."

﻿﻿﻿﻿Carpenter
has a long history with the UFO community and particularly what some call
investigation of alien abduction. Serving as the MUFON director of abduction
research from approximately 1991 to 2000, Carpenter conducted literally
hundreds of regressive hypnosis sessions. He frequently published statements
asserting the supposed reality of an alien presence and resulting program of
military abductions through speaking engagements, the MUFON Journal and
a network of platforms provided by like-minded individuals.

Early on in Leah Haley's quest to
learn more about a childhood UFO sighting, Budd Hopkins recommended she
contact Carpenter. Haley did so and Carpenter hypnotized her throughout 1991,
giving rise to many fantastic and previously unknown alleged experiences of
alien abduction and military abduction. More about Haley, her experiences and
her current beliefs are contained in previous posts.

Somewhere along his way, John
Carpenter was said to have cut a deal with Robert Bigelow involving the release
of 140 case files of alleged abductees, including Leah Haley. The files were
said to have been sold for $100 apiece, totaling $14,000. The public commonly
perceived a single transaction took place.

Certain individuals, including Leah
Haley and some of the other 139, were deeply hurt and outraged. They felt
betrayed by all parties involved: Carpenter, MUFON, Bigelow and associates.

The event seemed to have taken place
sometime during the mid 1990's. It became known as the Carpenter Affair when
the public eventually found out around the turn of the century. The
circumstances and their ramifications were of interest to some key MUFON
personnel, or at least that was the case with the ensuing public relations
problems. It was publicly discussed by such personnel, as well as various
people of relative interest in ufology, around the Internet.

James Mosely of Saucer Smear
regularly reported on the situation. The September, 2000, edition quoted the MUFON
director of governmental affairs, Larry Bryant, expressing his outrage over the
manner he interpreted MUFON mishandled the Carpenter Affair:

"Since a cloud of alleged
impropriety now hangs over the Executive Committee (of MUFON) for its having
taken so long to act upon its months-long knowledge of the 'Carpenter Affair',
I hereby call upon all members of the Executive Committee to resign forthwith
from their Committee positions, from their membership on the MUFON Board of
Directors, and from their MUFON general membership - all in the interest of
helping restore the public's confidence in the purpose, operation, management,
and integrity of this organization...

"In addition, you Executive Committee members owe all
of us in the entire field of UFO research not only a full, written explanation
as to who on the MUFON Board originally knew of the 'Carpenter Affair' (and
when they knew it) but also a published apology for their having embargoed or
otherwise downplayed that knowledge at the expense of the rest of the Board. If
we have a lesson to be learned from this debacle, how about this one: Enforced
silence never can be the ally of truth!"

Relevant questions remain. Let's
consider a few things.

Concerns have been expressed around
ufology that Bigelow and his corporations may sometimes act on behalf of hidden
partners and undisclosed agencies. Former MUFON international director James
Carrion asserted funds donated
to MUFON supposedly by Bigelow were actually provided by “sponsors,” the
identities of which Bigelow revealed to MUFON board member and former
international director John Schuessler, but did not disclose to the remaining
MUFON board members.

Our readers will recall that in our Sept. 5th issue, we told
you of the internal scandal in MUFON regarding the fact that John Carpenter,
their Director of Abduction Research, sold one hundred and forty (140)
abduction case histories to wealthy John Bigelow of NIDS (National Institute of
Discovery Science). John Schuessler, the new czar of MUFON, has promised an
investigation by an Ethics Committee consisting of four unnamed members of
their Board of Directors, and he has stated that the results of this internal
investigation will be published in the MUFON Journal.

However, we have recently received
the October issue of the Journal, and there is not a word therein about the
John Carpenter affair! On the contrary, the lead article is authored by
Carpenter, who uses the letters "MSW" and "LCSW" after his
name. We have no idea what these letters mean, but we do know that the article
in question is an absurd defense of the ludicrous "abduction video" which
was the topic of Carpenter's presentation at this year's MUFON symposium in St.
Louis. It thus appears that Mr. Carpenter is still riding high in the MUFON
hierarchy!...

Was the Carpenter Affair an isolated
incident and single transaction as commonly supposed, or was Carpenter involved
in additional, ongoing transactions and arrangements?

When did Carpenter's dealings with
Bigelow begin?

Why did Bigelow want the 140 case
files?

Might Carpenter's affiliation with
the Bigelow camp have influenced how he conducted his 'investigations' and
effected the ways he interacted with self-described experiencers?

Why did Carpenter not simply tell people,
such as Haley and fellow MUFON leaders (in addition to Schuessler, who sat
on the NIDS scientific advisory board, creating the related questionable
circumstances), he intended to share files and/or information with Bigelow?

I emailed John Carpenter to try to
learn more. I informed him I was blogging about the Leah Haley Case and asked
if I could ask him some questions. After a few attempts at contact, he
eventually replied, “Sure.”

I sent him some questions, to which
he replied with some questions of his own, including asking, “Where is this
information going?”

“How
ironic,” I thought... and after exchanging a few more initial remarks, we
proceeded.

Below is the vast majority of
Carpenter's comments to me. I am providing them in their virtual entirety and
exactly as written, less a few remarks contained in a previous post.

I initially asked Carpenter how his
interactions with the Bigelow camp began. I also asked what criteria was used
to identify the 140 files as being of interest and if he engaged in any other
transactions or projects with Bigelow. I encouraged him to provide commentary
as he might be inclined to further clarify the circumstances.

Carpenter replied:

Bob Bigelow is a low key
quiet man who has an avid and serious interest in the paranormal for all the
right reasons. Because he worked hard for years at real estate and investments,
he eventually made enough money to fund projects that would further research,
bring answers, and take a much needed, serious, scientific, and psychological
look at the UFO field.

All the serious
researchers knew him well as he made a point of connecting with the best ones
to see what they needed or what projects he could help with. He funded projects
for Budd Hopkins, Stanton Friedman, Linda Howe, David Jacobs, myself, Dr. John
Mack, George Knapp, MUFON, and more. People need to quit ASSUMING he is some
shady figure!!

Carpenter ended the email by indicating he would
send more later. I encouraged him to do so and in his next message he wrote:

Bob Bigelow is a kind-hearted,
generous individual who avidly sought answers in professional, credible
directions. He helped bring researchers together to discuss issues (while
staying discreetly in the background). He helped fund the historical M.I.T. Abduction
Study Conference in Boston in 1992.

He helped fund the famous Roper poll
on how many Americans may have been abducted. This led then to another effort
to train mental health professionals in abduction knowledge and therapy skills
by way of major professional conferences for mental health personnel ONLY.
These were held successfully in New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Chicago
with John Mack, Budd Hopkins, David Jacobs, and myself as speakers. Bob wanted
all the best for quality research and proper treatment for abductees.

I first met Bob when he tagged along
with Linda Moulton Howe as she visited Southwest Missouri to work with me on
several interesting abduction cases. Her subsequent film production became the
pilot special that evolved into the long-running show, Sightings!

Bob said he was impressed with my
hypnotherapy skills and professionalism. He, later on, flew me to Las Vegas,
Tucson, Vancouver Island, and Nevada to help abduction cases he had become
aware of. He also helped fund the investigation in New Mexico of Gerald
Anderson's claims with myself and Stanton Friedman.

Carpenter continued in another message:

Eventually Bob created the National
Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS) in Las Vegas so that top scientists and
other fields of professional expertise could study paranormal events, UFO
cases, etc in a serious and quiet manner. He developed a science board of
experts that would impress anybody on this planet. It included two Apollo
astronauts who had walked on the moon, Jacques Vallee, Ian Stevenson
(reincarnation studies), Hal Putoff (astrophysics), Edgar Mitchell, and many
others who preferred to remain anonymous. They would secretly convene once a
month and study various cases and projects.

I had the wonderful opportunity to
give a presentation on abductions to this incredible panel of experts!

Having clarified the good and
generous nature of Bob Bigelow and all the wonderful things he helped to make
possible for all the right reasons, I want to clarify the last project that I
worked on with his organization.

He wanted some of his top
professional minds to study abduction data. I agreed to confidentially share
data from a number of my cases by blacking out names and identifying data to
protect my cases while giving top scientists a taste of what is being reported
in abduction research.

Despite rumors on the Internet, I
NEVER SOLD my cases!! That rumor supposedly had credibility because it was
started by my ex-wife who wanted to stir up controversy and headaches for me!
Doesn't anybody understand this dynamic with an ex-wife?

Anyway, for the record, all of my
140 plus cases remain complete, intact, and unchanged -- all in my possession
if anybody cares to drop by my house just to be certain! Bob Bigelow only
reimbursed me for my time and costs to work on selecting, preparing, and
sending data. It was an honor to have great minds study this important
information, quietly, discreetly, and respectfully. However, I heard that most
of it never got reviewed and probably sits in some closet as priorities and
more exciting projects came along. Around that time Bob had bought the famous
ranch in Utah known for it's paranormal events, and the science team had a
chance to study weirdness on our planet firsthand!! (See the book on these
events -- "Hunt for the Skinwalker.")

I was disgusted with the rumors,
lack of trust, cruelty, and self-serving comments made by Internet buffs ---
most who have not performed one ounce of research. They trashed me, tried a
lawsuit, discredited my long hours of serious, careful research, and had no
comprehension of how I had tried to help abductees and their cause. I had held
a full time job during all those years and did all research in my free time --
usually for free or donations. It made me sick, so I just backed away from it
all. A voluntary effort is not worth all those headaches!

But I know so much from my cases and
feel I still have much to offer. So it is hard to refuse anyone who still needs
my help. I will still give presentations for conferences if asked. I produced
10 research DVDs as well to document my research. With Budd Hopkins and Dr.
John Mack gone, my famed abductions colleagues have dwindled.

Any other questions?

I replied:

“Yes,
a few. I would particularly appreciate direct answers to the following direct
questions:

"I interpret you are
communicating to me that you shared information with Robert Bigelow about
abductees you worked with on an ongoing basis, not in a single transaction as
the public commonly perceives. Is that a correct interpretation on my part?

"What was the date he tagged
along with Linda Moulton Howe and you first met him?

"Would
you please reasonably clarify the chain of events by providing a general time
line of how the transfer of the information specifically related to the 140
cases in question evolved? For example, when you met Bigelow, when you began
sharing information about the experiences of the 140, when you received
compensation, etc.

"Did you have dealings with any
individuals acting on behalf or in conjunction with the Bigelow camp, in
addition to Robert Bigelow and concerning the 140 files, and, if so, who?

"Around the turn of the
century, a post on Geocities dot com revealed the names of 139 of the alleged
alien abductees in question. What would you say to those who might hold you and
your choices responsible, at the least indirectly, for the occurrence?

"What would you say to the
experiencers you worked with who may feel violated by your choices and betrayed
by your actions, and might suggest you are rationalizing your behavior while
minimizing the emotional damage done?”

Carpenter replied:

Yes, my data sharing was spread over
3 years around 1995 and the reimbursements trickled in over that period, so I
don't know the actual total. My ex-wife provided a figure, but I'm not sure how
she would have totaled it. Other researchers were approached with the same
proposal, and some of them may have shared data, too.

I emphasize the confidentiality,
care, and protection I gave this data. And I know of nobody that was harmed in
any fashion.

I met Bob on Linda's trip in 1990.

I always dealt directly with Bob
Bigelow.

I was appalled that a list of names
was leaked to the Internet... I had privately developed code numbers for each
case to protect the identity of each person. This way I could privately keep
track of each case by number NOT by NAMES. I later learned that my ex-wife
copied my private list and gave it out, and then some insensitive idiot had the
nerve to put this private list on the Internet thus exposing identities that I
had worked hard to protect. That person should be held accountable for such an
insensitive and hurtful act!

However, since I worked with cases
all over the country, the name Bill Johnson could be a lot of people since no
locations or addresses were attached. The code numbers were to protect their
identity and maintain confidentiality. The Internet and rumor-mongers were the
hurtful participants!

Closing Remarks

I leave it up to the reader to determine
what may be surmised from the statements of John Carpenter. You can determine
for yourself what was learned and what issues remain.

Those who read The UFO Trail
and know me are aware of my thoughts and feelings on such issues as regressive
hypnosis used as a memory retrieval tool. My views are also reasonably well
known on certain circumstances Carpenter chose to cite, as well as the work of
some of the people he opted to frame in a positive light. I recognize
Carpenter's right to hold and express any opinions he may choose, and I have
no inclination to jump on any soap boxes in the immediate wake of
those expressions. Suffice it to say there is plenty of competently composed
critical review in opposition to circumstances cited by Carpenter, and I will
primarily leave it at that.

I sincerely hope John Carpenter
finds peace with himself. I also hope the often emotionally troubled people
who summon the courage to reach out to such individuals as Carpenter
in search of help will find much deserved relief and peace from their
suffering. I hope those who were long since hurt by the Carpenter Affair
found some comfort somewhere, too.

Decide for yourselves what you think
mattered about the Carpenter Affair and Carpenter's recent statements. Decide
for yourself what you would think mattered about it all if you were Leah Haley.

I indicated I wanted to discuss one
last thing with Carpenter and I thanked him for providing comments.

“If you were so confident your motives and intentions were
honorable,” I asked, “why did you not ever just ask Leah if it would be okay to
share her file with an interested party? After all, she was obviously an
ambitious truth seeker, considering her activities and levels of commitment.
Why didn't you just ask her?”

“She
was already publicly sharing, speaking, and publishing more details of her case
than I ever thought of sharing,” Carpenter replied in an email, “and I wasn't
sharing anything publicly --- only discreetly and privately with scientists --
that's what researchers do.”

Three minutes after the previous
email, Carpenter sent another, adding, “If every researcher had to stop and
call every case for permission before discussing details privately with another
researcher, we never could have had confidential discussions and research
meetings to advance this field of study.”

All other hurtful remarks and
distorted perspectives temporarily aside, I take serious issue with the
statement, “advance this field of study.”